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The Local Dish: My 7 Favorite Meals in the CLE

Sunday, February 18, 2018

I like food. I like to eat food, I like to photograph food, I like to talk about food, & I especially like to recommend my favorite food places to other people. Did I mention that I can't cook? So I have a lot of favorite food places.

If you're based in the CLE or if you're visiting soon (get at me), the recs in this post are for you. This isn't a sponsored post in any way, but I am partnering up with the SoFab blogger community. Bloggers in other cities are sharing their favorite local restaurant meals, too, in the hopes that wherever you are - or go! - we can help you find something delicious to enjoy.

I live verrrry close to this spot, & one of my greatest achievements is not ordering this dish every day of my life. It's tempting, though: This creamy curry dish, loaded with crunchy cashews, is warm & cozy & filling over jasmine rice & eaten with plain naan. Sometimes I order ahead on Skip the Dishes, & sometimes I head over there to get it fresh, with a mango lassi on the side.

This spot is brand new, so it shouldn't really have had enough time to make it onto a favorites list - but hey, maybe I believe in love at first site. I'm so excited to have a healthy lunch spot right here in my neighborhood, & my poke bowl of choice is so delicious & fresh: shrimp on greens, topped with avocado, mango, cucumber, & shredded carrots with tom yum sauce, sesame, & crispy wonton strips. I'm really hoping this place succeeds because I could eat here every day, so help my wallet.

This recently opened brewery specializes in thin, New Haven-style "apizza," & all the versions I've tried are delicious. My favorite, though, & one of their most unusual, is this brunch version topped with boursin smoked cheese, chicken, sriracha, walnut brittle, & OYO bourbon maple syrup. It's both sweet & spicy, & while it admittedly doesn't taste like chicken & waffles, it does taste divine.

Right before I left D.C., I discovered my love of Vietnamese food - & was devastated to think that I might not be able to find it in Cleveland. How wrong I was! Number One Pho & nearby Superior Pho are both out of this world - & authentic, owned by Vietnamese families. Number One Pho gets my business mostly because they deliver via Skip the Dishes, which means I can get my beloved beef vermicelli bowl (extra peanuts, please) sent right to my desk while I work.

This is another spot close to my apartment, & while I stop in regularly for lattes, I have to resist eating there all the time. Luckily, they only serve my favorite meal on the weekends, which helps me resist temptation. This brunch meal is much more than a burrito; it's actually a breakfast casserole, or American enchiladas, or something, two thin egg-&-veggie burritos cooked in a casserole dish & covered in hot, bubbly mole sauce. It's my ideal breakfast food, which is saying a lot.

I'm not typically a big soup person, but I'll make an exception for this spicy dish from a new noodle joint downtown. Roast pork in tonkotsu soup with ramen noodles, scallions, kikurage, seaweed, & corn... yum. It's a huge bowl of food, but I never leave with leftovers. I am also very upset that the new downtown location doesn't deliver to my address. Pleeeeeeease, Otani Noodle?!? I'm begging.

And there you have it. I can think of at least a dozen other meals I love in the CLE - this is a great city for food - but these are my favorites, my go-tos, my "I want to eat something I know I'm going to love" meals.

What's your favorite meal in your city? Or, if your city is the same city as mine, share your local recommendations!